*I would like to mention that the current totes from Quince are totally different from this one and this one is sadly no longer made.
Ok ok, I know I just said I have too many totes. But when I earned enough credit through my referral link (thank you so much you guys for your support of this blog!), I just had to try out Quince’s Italian Tote [no longer sold]. But don’t worry I’m not accumulating more bags because I plan to give this to a friend. And she’ll be thrilled because guys, this is a great tote.
I decided to order her the tall tote since it’s perfect for carrying a laptop without adding the extra bulk of the regular-sized totes. Inside there’s one zippered flat pocket and the interior is lined with a suede-like leather. The stone color is a beautiful cool-toned light gray that reminds me a lot like my Everlane Petra tote, which I reviewed here 5 years ago! (If you can’t tell, I tried to take photos similar to the ones used in that review since this Last Brand tote reminds me so much of that Everlane Petra tote. The Everlane Petra review was one of my first reviews for Everlane.)
Anyway if you’ve been wondering if the Last Brand totes are a good dupe for Cuyana totes, then let me answer that question for you by saying totes yes (lol couldn’t resist a tote pun today). In fact, in terms of leather quality and construction I’d say you’d have a hard time telling the difference between this tote and Cuyana’s Tall Structured Tote. The leather on the Last Brand tote is the same thick durable pebbly leather. You can see in the picture below that the leather of the Last Brand tote is nearly identical to my Cuyana pouch. The difference between the two lie in the interior construction (the Cuyana one has a large flat pocket for your laptop along with a zippered pocket) and the size (Cuyana’s tall tote is bigger at W 16 in. x H 15.38 in. x D 5.5 in. with a 9.75 in. strap drop, while Last Brand’s tote is W 15 in. x H 13 in. x D 6 in. with a 10in. strap drop). Oh and of course there’s the price difference: Cuyana’s tote is $215 while LB’s is $99 {As of March 20201, the price has increased to $119}. If you’re wondering how LB can keep their prices so low, I address that in my first LB review here.
Cuyana on the left, Last Brand on the right
inside of the bag
Honestly, if you’ve been eyeing any of Cuyana’s structured totes, I think you’d be quite happy with the LB ones. There is very little difference between the two, and in fact if you’re on the petite side the LB tote is better since it’s slightly smaller (though if you’re looking for a smaller tall tote, the Everlane magazine tote is the smallest though the leather is completely different—my Everlane Market Tote review is here).
P.S. You can find all my other Quince reviews here including my review of the Quince Calfskin Crossbody bag that I loooove (and still use often as of March 2021).